


Kiss and Make Up

by notaguitarfret



Series: "They're all girlfriends" AU [17]
Category: Heathers (1988), Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, a lot of sexual tension, bulimia reference, can someone please help them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 21:16:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20180860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notaguitarfret/pseuds/notaguitarfret
Summary: Exactly what the title says. It was about time.





	Kiss and Make Up

**Author's Note:**

> babeys be warn, there is a suggestive scene right at the end !! feel free to skip uwu

Heather slumped next to Duke on the wall that she had settled on, watching as she combed her straight, loose black hair.

“You feeling okay?” she asked. Duke didn’t even look at her.

“What do you think?” she muttered, putting the comb back in the pocket of her green blazer.

“Not good?” Heather guessed. Duke raised her head, staring forward.

“She’s on my final nerve,” she hissed. “This is the third time this week she’s flipped out at us.”

Heather stared down at her hands as her fingers fidgeted with one another.

“What did you fight about this time?”

Duke let out a long-winded sigh. “I told her to not fall for Kurt’s flirting,” she said, finally looking at her with tired eyes. “And that it’s weird that she can pin him up against the wall and threaten him to not go near you at one point, and then reciprocate his obvious signs that he wants to bang her at another.”

Heather swallowed. “Oh.”

“Just…” She dragged her nails across her scalp. “God, why does she have to be so _ insufferable _?”

“I don’t know.”

“She’s been like this for _ months _ !” Duke then shivered. “Like, I’m actually outside, sitting in the cold, in January to _ avoid _ her.” She snarled. “ _ Shut up, Heather! I know what I’m doing! _ Or, _ shut up, Heather, I’m the one in control here. _” Her head hung. “It’s so fucking exhausting.”

McNamara bit the inside of her cheek.

“Do you know if she’s okay?” she asked.

“Why would I know that?”

“I was just wondering.” She stared off sadly. “Maybe she’s been lashing out because something is up with her.”

Duke narrowed her eyes. “So what if there is?”

Heather gave her a surprised look.

“So we… look out for her?”

Duke just scoffed indignantly. “Whatever may or may not be up with her isn’t my fucking problem.”

“But-”

“If she wants to be a mythic bitch to us, then quite frankly, we have no business making sure she’s okay.” She brushed off some of the dirt that had latched onto her hand from the wall. “She should be making sure that _ we’re _ okay after she goes off on us. Not the other way around.”

Heather tried to gather up a response, but no words could be found to form a coherent argument.

“I just want to understand her a little more, I guess,” Heather then murmured, staring at her feet as they swung back and forth, heels hitting the wall. She only looked up when a hand landed on top of hers.

“You can’t make yourself understand someone who won’t let anyone in,” Duke said seriously. “It’s not your responsibility.”

Heather, however shook her hand away.

“She’s my best friend. If there’s anyone who can get through to her, it’s _ me _.”

Duke’s gaze hardened.

“Just know it’s not your problem that she’s a bitch.”

“Who’s a bitch?”

Heather flinched, turning her head to see Chandler stalking towards them in her red heels. Her icy glare was on show, with no loose strands of ginger hair escaping the tight ponytail that her bright red scrunchie held together. The bright colours practically sliced through her grey patterned blazer.

Next to her, Duke gave a huff.

“_ You, _” she spat, before leaping off the wall and storming off, most likely back inside where it was warm.

Chandler stared her down dangerously as she moved past her, though it didn’t look like she once caught her eye. Once she was out of sight, she turned back to Heather with a calmer gaze, but one that still put her on edge.

“Let me guess, she’s bitching about that argument we had about Kurt?” she groaned, resting her elbows on the wall. “So overdramatic.” Her blue eyes rolled. “I’m a junior. I can do whatever I want with boys.” She then glanced up at Heather. “Say, you don’t mind me hooking up with Kurt, do you?”

Heather shook her head.

“Thought so.”

“Yeah, we’re not dating, Heather,” she replied. “It’s just an on and off thing.”

“Ha, I would hope so,” Chandler said, her tone suddenly switching to heated. “Because quite frankly, I can’t stand him putting his grizzly little paws anywhere near you.”

Heather said nothing in reply, instead just watched her as she stalked around to the other side of her.

“Is something up?” she asked, eyeing her up and down. “You’re quiet. Quieter than usual.”

Heather slowly shook her head.

“No,” she said. She was suddenly hesitant to continue to speak. “Um… what about you?”

Chandler’s eyes flashed up at her, expression unreadable. The hand resting on her wrist curled, digging her red nails into her skin, and her sharp stare sliced right through her.

“Of course I’m fine,” she murmured, continuing to stare back at her, unblinking. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Heather bit her lip, her fingers tapping the brick surface of the wall anxiously as she tried to decide on what the best reply would be. Hyper-aware of her time limit before her behaviour may appear suspicious, drastically picked one at random.

“No reason.”

* * *

“You realise my birthday was two weeks ago, right?” Duke muttered as she was dragged upstairs to Chandler’s room.

After last night’s events of getting pretty fucking pissed out their minds, Chandler had allowed Duke to stay over night rather than having to beg her parents for a ride home, considering Chandler certainly wasn’t going to do it when she could hardly walk straight. It was an easier solution to just sleep in the guest room.

In the morning, it appears Chandler had forgotten about Duke’s weird immunity to hangovers, which made poor Heather with a heavy, aching head incredibly jealous. Though, the two of them definitely felt ill in the stomach. Mixing that much alcohol will do that to you.

_ “Just let me throw it up, Heather!” _ she had said. _ “It’s just vomit. I’m used to it.” _

_ “Heather Lee Duke, I did _ not _ carry your unconscious body through the woods for you to just make yourself throw up willy-nilly!” _

Chandler eventually won that argument.

“Yes, and then it was delayed by your shitty fucking parents,” Chandler retorted as they made it up the stairs. “Also, I was going to keep this as a surprise until your party anyway.”

Duke arched a brow.

“I’m curious.”

“Good. Get excited.” Chandler spun around and walked backwards to reveal an excitable smirk. “I know for a fact that you’ll love this.” She did a little bounce as she walked, as though a spark of genuine happiness had ignited within her. It appeared to be contagious, since as soon as she had turned back around again, Duke let herself smile warmly.

“Alright, what are you planning?” she sighed as she stepped back into her room.

“Just…” Chandler scurried over to her, twirling behind her and shoving her forward by the shoulders. She ended up being pushed towards her wall mirror. Almost as soon as she locked eyes with her reflection, she looked away.

“You’re really showing me my reflection right now?” she asked Chandler, who was rummaging through her wardrobe.

“What’s the problem?” she asked, completely oblivious.

“Reminder that my doctor diagnosed me with body dysmorphia,” Duke said dryly. Chandler paused.

“Right,” she grunted. “Okay, well, look away then. You don’t need the mirror yet.”

“Okay?” She arched a brow. “What are you scheming?”

Chandler proceeded to pull out a cardboard box from her wardrobe, before spinning around and shoving it into Duke’s hold.

“For you. Happy eighteenth. You can ride a motorcycle now.”

Duke gave the box a shake, trying to get a hint as to what it may be. With how nothing rolled around or thumped, she guessed it was something soft. Like clothing.

“Okay then,” she mumbled as she ripped the cardboard open. “What do we have?”

She opened up the box, threw out the white crumpled up paper, until there was none left.

And inside, she was met with a shiny, shimmering fabric.

She took hold of it and pulled it out, dropping the box on the floor to use both hands to straighten the item of clothing out.

A dress.

It was long, loose, appeared to be made of silk with how it glistened in the light. The sleeves were long and low hanging, and the hems were decorated with frills in a similar fashion to delicate flower petals.

The dress itself was a beautiful, scarlet red. It was a bold, strong shade that was guaranteed to catch everyone’s eye when entering a room.

“You were right,” she murmured, her eyes still running up and down the dress. “I do love it.”

“Thought so,” Chandler huffed proudly. “Now go and try it on. We have a party to prepare for in a few hours.”

A wide smile crawled on Duke’s lips as she continued to stare at the dress in amazement, and rather than turning around to leave so she could throw it on her body, she darted forward and embraced Chandler in a tight hug. Chandler let out a surprised yelp at the contact.

“I- uh, I guess you really do love it.”

“Of course I do,” she said with a laugh, peering up at her cheekily. “And I am grateful. You didn’t need to get me this.”

Chandler shrugged.

“Though you wear that scrunchie religiously, I kinda felt like I could do more, y’know?” She nodded to the scrunchie around Duke’s wrist. “And it’s your birthday, so… go wild.” She then shoved her off of her and smiled. “Now go change. I wanna see that it was worth every penny.”

“Right,” Duke said with a nod. “I’ll be back.”

She turned around and left, hurrying to the bathroom. She quickly unbuttoned her white shirt and wiggled out her skirt, and was quick to slip into the dress. It was fairly easy to get into, with it not tightly hugging her body and instead draping around her legs. With each step she took, it flowed in the air, rippling like waves.

“What do you think?” she announced as she stepped back into the room. Chandler, now sitting on her bed, looked up with wide eyes.

“It’s… it looks really good on you,” she said, looking a little stunned. Duke batted her lashes at her.

“I’m flattered.”

Chandler cleared her throat, eventually tearing her gaze away.

“You’re welcome,” she grunted. “Now, I should really get everything ready.”

Duke let out a groan.

“That’s _ effort _.”

“It’ll be _ worth it _.” She paused. “But, uhh… we have a while before people start showing up, so…” She threw herself onto her bed, sighing as she sank into the mattress. Duke rolled her eyes, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Heather?”

Duke looked over towards her.

“Yes?”

Chandler gazed at her nervously.

“You’re not going to tell anyone about what I said last night, right?” she murmured. Duke arched her brow.

“Of course not. The school would destroy the three of you.” She huffed. “Unless you’re under the impression that I want that.”

Chandler shrugged. “Just making sure.”

Duke gazed at her for a moment, seeing the distant, saddened look in her eyes. It was unlike many of her usual emotions.

“Heather?”

She lifted her head.

“Do you like Veronica?”

Chandler’s body stiffened.

“I wouldn’t have slept with her if I didn’t,” she grumbled. Duke rolled her eyes.

“Not what I meant,” she said. “I know as well as you do that you don’t _ like _ the majority of people that you sleep with.”

Chandler folded her arms defensively.

“I meant, do you _ like _ her?”

She gave a snort. “What gave you such a ludicrous impression?”

Duke held her gaze with the blankest stare she could muster up.

“Well, looking back at all of your interactions with her in the past few weeks, I can now pick up on ‘I’m very horny for you’ vibes.”

Chandler turned away from her, her pale cheeks becoming a bright pink, making Duke stifle a giggle.

“There’s also the fact that you’re jealous,” she added, shuffling closer to her. “A rare sighting for you.”

“_ I’m not- _” Chandler began, swinging her head back around as she shot up into a sitting position. But when her eyes finally landed on Duke, her heated expression softened. “That’s… not it.”

Duke raised a brow. “Then what _ is _ it?”

Blue eyes grew foggy as she loured at her. Though her mouth would twitch, it never opened. Duke sighed.

“Okay, well, as a late birthday present, could you _ please _ talk to the two of them, then?” she groaned. “If you’re not going to talk about it with me.”

Chandler leaned back, her chin tilting down.

“I’m sorry?”

“I don’t want to spend my eighteenth constantly choosing who to hang out with, Heather.”

Chandler let out a scoff. “Sorry that that isn’t going to happen within the next few hours?”

“I don’t know!” Duke shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be _ today _ , just… _ soon _.”

She let out a riled huff, her shoulders dropping and wrinkles on her nose slowly forming.

“I’ll think about it,” she grumbled, her eyes remaining low and avoidant of Duke’s. Regardless, Duke gave a satisfied grin.

“Glad to hear it,” she said, stealing her hand as she stood back up. “Now come on, we have a party to prepare.”

Chandler let out a miffed squawk as she was yanked off of the bed and onto her two feet.

“_ Now? _”

“Yes, _ now _ .” She eyed her up and down. “You’re not even _ dressed _.”

Chandler’s gaze followed hers to stare at her red dressing gown that loosely covered her revealing lingerie beneath it, and grunted in a loathsome agreement.

“_ Fine. _”

* * *

“Happy birthday!”

Heather tightly held Duke in a welcoming hug, smiling as she rested on her curly black hair.

“Mhmm? Emmy, you’ve already wished me that,” Duke squeaked against her neck. Heather released her and gave a gleeful scoff, dismissing the statement with a simple hand gesture.

“That was ages ago,” she said. “Now we’re actually celebrating.” She took a step backwards to gaze at her outfit. A beautiful red dress that just about cut off at chest level, with silk that swirled around her curvy figure like mist.

“I love your dress,” she heard Veronica comment from behind her. “I’ve never seen it before, either.”

“Yeah, it’s really nice!” Heather added, eyes still glued to the red that practically brightened the dimly lit hallway with its bold colour.

“Oh, yeah,” Duke said, growing a little sheepish as she gently lifted up some of the fabric that lay elegantly across her waist. “Heather got me it.”

Hearing that last piece of information stole any more compliments Heather could have offered. As beautiful as Duke looked, she couldn’t help but let an overwhelming sense of bitterness keep her lips clamped shut.

“That was nice of her,” Veronica mused, before glancing over her shoulder. “We should move out the doorway though, more people are arriving.”

The two of them led the way into Chandler’s house, in a direction that was still an unfamiliar path to Heather. It was simply to the living room - the biggest room of the house, topped with an indoor balcony that presented some of the upstairs rooms - and yet it was still so unexplored.

Chandler never came in here. Neither did she.

Inside, the TV had been moved so that it was sitting right next to the wall. The couches were still in the same place, though, as was the coffee table in front of them. On it were many different coloured bowls of different sizes, containing many snacks. Heather knew that every large bowl was on there, apart from one. She could easily snag a guess as to where that bowl would be.

“Why are you holding a bowl full of corn nuts, Heather?” Duke chided as the group made their way over to her - next to the alcohol table, setting out the bottles neatly. “That belongs on the _ snack _ table!”

Chandler took another handful of corn nuts and tossed them in her mouth, purely so that she would have a free hand to be able to flip her off.

“Fucking rude.”

“Shu’ up, I’m hungry,” she mumbled with a full mouth.

“You always fucking lecture me about eating with my mouth full!” Veronica carped.

“I’s fine when I do i’,” she snarked in reply, before finally swallowing.

“Congrats, you got crumbs on your dress before the party even started,” Duke said, pointing to the tiny crumbs that had gathered on her chest, just about visible on the red dress she wore with a large black belt that sat tightly around her waist.

“Yeah, it’s gonna go in your cleavage,” Veronica said casually as she poured herself a cup of beer.

“Stop staring at Heather’s cleavage, Veronica,” Duke said. Veronica whipped her head up from the table to stare at Duke, and had Heather not been so stubborn as to associate herself with Chandler in that moment, she would have laughed.

“I-” Veronica stammered. “I was staring at her dress.”

“Yes, because there’s so much _ dress _ in that area,” Duke mocked, glancing at the strapless dress.

Veronica said nothing more, just cleared her throat and continued pouring her drink.

When Heather finally dared to look back over to Chandler, she saw that her red lips were tightly pursed and head was lowered a little, with the slightest bit of colour invading her pale cheeks.

McNamara just rolled her eyes.

Does anyone know who’s actually coming tonight?” Veronica suddenly spoke up, switching the topic as smoothly as she still could.

Chandler shrugged. “I kinda just invited whoever.”

“Oh no.”

“What?”

Veronica sighed in despair. “That means I’m gonna have to interact with all the guys who just came here for a fuck.”

Duke chuckled. “So, all the guys.”

“Precisely,” Veronica muttered as she took her first sip of her drink. “If they could refrain from being horny for _ one night _ that would be great.”

“_ Hey _, ladies!”

The four of them stared at each other, already admitting a defeat in unison.

“Hi, Ram,” Duke muttered. “Glad you could make it.”

For once, Heather could pick up on the sarcasm that dripped from her voice, and she bit back the urge to laugh as Ram made his way over to the group.

“Veronica, you are looking _ good _ on this fine night,” Ram commented, sliding over to stand next to her in his striped sweater and jeans.

Veronica eyed him up and down.

“Thanks. I like to think I have quite a variety in my wardrobe.”

The thing is, Ram wasn’t exactly wrong. Veronica wore a black top that cut off just above her stomach, along with a flowy, light blue skirt. And with how tight the top was, accompanied with the many waves along each hem of her skirt, it gave Heather many curves to follow with her eyes.

“Hey gang!”

From behind Ram, they saw Kurt a standing a little further away from them, standing tall with his arm raised high in the air. In his hand was a fairly large, unopened vodka bottle. His head darted around the room that was rapidly filling up with more and more teens, all of whose heads were facing towards the jock.

“Here’s the deal, if we manage to finish this entire bottle in less than an hour, we play _Spin the Bottle!” _ He sang those last few words teasingly, rowing up intrigued chatter and a few cheers from the crowd.

“That’s guy talk for, _ please, someone fuck me _,” Chandler muttered her breath as she placed the bowl down on the table. “Okay, I’ll give you a head start,” she said louder, stepping forward. One click of her heel was enough to catch everyone’s attention. “Hand it over.” She held out her hand, gesturing for him to place it in her palm. Kurt gave an excited snigger as he obeyed.

“Place your bets now,” Duke muttered as she watched her rip the bottle cap off. “Is this going to well or no?”

“No.

“Nope.

“No. Out of spite.”

Veronica and Duke glanced at her, and she shrugged.

“What, do you expect me to cheer her on?”

“I kind of miss you doing that,” Veronica murmured. Heather frowned at her.

“She hasn’t even spoken a word to me tonight,” she muttered, gazing over to her as she tipped the bottle into her mouth. She held it there for a while, gulping down as much as she could in one go, up until there was a noticeable difference in how much vodka was missing from the bottle. She was smart enough to not hold it there for any longer than she did, and when she finally fell forward, swallowing the final bit still in her mouth, she remained quiet.

And then a _ cough _.

"_Ooooh. _” Duke grimaced. “Bad sign.”

“To be fair, that’s more than I could do,” Veronica commented. Heather glanced at the bottle, seeing that, yes, she had swallowed a fair bit.

However, McNamara just huffed.

“Not _ bad _,” she said, raising her voice just loud enough for the others to hear. “But there’s still quite a lot to go.”

She stalked towards Chandler, ignoring the curious looks she was being given by Duke and Veronica in favour of Chandler’s abashed expression.

Heather only gave her a snide grin.

“I’ll give it a shot,” she said with a giggle.

“_ Nice pun, _” she heard Veronica call from behind her. As she took hold of the bottle, she glanced back to her to give a wink. Veronica’s brows raised, as did the corners of her blue-painted lips.

It was a smile so pretty that it lit a flame in her chest, causing a warm, comforting feeling.

“Perhaps hurry up with it,” a less pleasant tone in voice jeered. She glanced back at Chandler and snorted, before raising the bottle to her mouth.

The vodka’s strong taste slammed into her tongue, but it was by no means anything she couldn’t handle. If anything, she was pleasantly surprised when she tasted a tang of sweet raspberry, which while intense, was definitely not overwhelming.

Honestly, she never understood why anyone had so much trouble swallowing vodka.

She lost count of how many gulps she had swallowed after five, and just before her lungs became too desperate for air, she stopped.

The crowd watched her as she wiped her mouth of any excess, hoping to not wipe away her lip gloss in the process of that.

“_ Nice! _” she heard someone cheer, and she gave a thumbs up.

“I know!” she replied with a grin, before handing the bottle back to Kurt.

“I agree,” he said in a low voice, smirking. “Would like to see you swallow something else later.”

It was as if he had just taken a crowbar and smashed her good mood into a million little pieces. Forcing herself to not gag at the thought of such a thing, she laughed awkwardly, hands fidgeting with each other behind her back.

“I can try chugging more alcohol, no problem,” she replied. Kurt scoffed.

“Not quite what I meant, y’know?” Her gave her a nudge with his elbow. “It’s been a while since we’ve done anything.”

Heather let out a fake cough as she subtly stepped away.

“_ Maybe _ there’s a reason for that,” she said in the most chippy tone she could use.

“Oh come _ on _,” he persisted. “There’s no way you don’t miss me.”

_ There isn’t much to miss, _ is what she _ would _ have said if she could just push past the barrier that stopped her from insulting anyone who had the _ potential _ of humiliating her in any way.

“Kurt, don’t you want to save your load until _ after S_pin The Bottle?” Chandler’s voice suddenly spoke up from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, and saw her stepping forward, staring down at Kurt with an intimidating glare. “You and I both know it takes you a while to get it back up. You wouldn’t want to miss out on any opportunity, would you?”

Kurt paused.

“I- you have a point,” he stammered. “But it doesn’t take me _ that _ long.”

“But watching the clock, it has already been,” she glanced at her swatch, “just over five minutes, and you kinda gave yourself a time limit.”

“It doesn’t _ have _ to be a time limit,” he retorted, his had snaking onto her shoulder. “I can postpone. We have all night.”

The feeling of his hand touching her, even if a thin layer of pastel yellow was guarding her bare skin from it, made her shudder. Not only was their on-and-off relationship tiring as hell, she had already been putting it to sleep _ weeks _ before her epiphany as to why she had to spend so much fucking money on lube.

“Alright, well… I’ll stop sugar coating then,” Chandler said, slithering closer and not stopping until their faces were about an inch apart. “She’s _ not interested. Fuck off. _ Find someone else.” She moved away. “And whatever you do, _ don’t fuck in any of the bedrooms. _”

Kurt fell silent, nodding frantically before slowly creeping away.

“Uhh… Ram, pass me some booze?” he called towards the drink table as he scurried away. Once he was out of her sight, Heather looked back at Chandler in bewilderment.

“I, um…” She swallowed. “Thanks.”

Chandler looked at her with a blank gaze.

“It’s whatever,” she muttered. Her usual bright blue gaze was dull when she gazed back at her for the briefest moment, for the _ first time tonight _, and before Heather could even say anything else, she walked off, tearing her eyes away like a bandage being ripped from a wound after being placed on it wrong. She stared after her, dejected.

“You okay?”

She spun around and saw Veronica walking closer to her. She picked up her smile once again.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I… was eavesdropping,” she said, stopping in front of her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Heather felt herself deflate a little.

“I _ am _, I just…” She raised her head to look at Chandler again, seeing that she had struck up a conversation with Duke as she poured herself another drink. “I’m just getting-”

“Mixed signals? Tell me about it,” Veronica groaned, taking a swig of her beer. “But come on, don’t let that get you down,” she then said with a grin, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her closer to where a group of teens were gathered to listen to the music playing. “It’s a party, Mara! We’re here to have fun.”

She watched as Veronica tossed her empty cup into a nearby trash can - and _ succeeding _ \- before taking hold of her by the hand and began to shimmy along with the tune of _ Take On Me _.

It wasn’t long for a fluttery sensation in her chest began to grow more and more intense, urging her to dance along with her. She laughed as Veronica twirled her around by the arm; to most, it was in a jokey way, one that acted like a parody of any cliche high school relationship at a dance. Or at least, she hoped that’s what they thought it was.

Not actually them having a blast holding one another’s hand in front of many pairs of eyes without a care in the world as they spun each other around, skipped and shuffled to the beat as best as they could. Something Heather noticed was that Veronica was not all that graceful on her feet. She stumbled a lot, missed many beats and wobbled quite a bit.

And it was the reason behind the wide smile that Heather held on her face, it was kind of starting to make her cheeks hurt.

“You’re not bad at dancing,” Veronica noted when their hands were clasped and their bodies were briefly pressed up together. Heather batted her lashes at her sweetly.

“You’re pretty clumsy yourself,” she replied. Veronica blinked at her, before letting out a chuckle.

“You should be grateful I’m taking it easy,” she said. “It’s pretty risky to be in a place full of cigarette smoke, after all.”

Heather paused, causing Veronica to bump into her.

“Your asthma!” she gasped. “Should you even _ be _ here?”

“Oh, I’ll be fine,” she assured her. “I’ll make sure to stay away from people smoking, don’t worry.”

“Should be easy.”

The two of them turned to Duke, who had appeared on the dance floor with her own cup.

“Heather’s banned smoking indoors,” she said. “If she catches anyone smoking anywhere but out back, she’s gonna have a problem.”

Veronica widened her eyes a little, an appreciative smile growing on her lips.

“That was… nice of her,” she commented wistfully. “I’ll have to thank her later.” She let out a chuckle. “And maybe reassure her that I won’t have an asthma attack.”

“Please don’t, I want to celebrate my eighteenth in peace,” Duke said, sipping her drink. “And by peace, I mean a very loud party full of drunken teenagers.”

“Say, where’s Heather actually gone?” Veronica then asked. Duke pointed across the room, where Chandler was seen commuting with some preppy guys who were definitely trying to flirt with her. “Heather, are you okay if I go?”

Heather shot her an odd look.

“Of course I am. You can talk to her as much as you want.”

Veronica chuckled nervously. “Yeah, I… don’t know why you wouldn’t be okay with that.” She scratched the back of her head. “I’ll be back!”

Off she went, pushing past a few stray guests to reach her destination. Once she was out of earshot, she turned towards Duke,

“So, did you have a nice day yesterday?” she asked, still swaying to the song that had changed to _ Tainted Love _.

“Hm? Oh, yeah. We were both fucking dumb and decided to drink.”

“_ Drink? _” she echoed. “Heather!”

Duke immediately dismissed her worries. “Oh, it’s fine. We just might feel _ very _ ill later.” She shrugged. “But is it _ really _ a party if you’re not vomiting your guts out?” She let out a laugh. “Guess my whole life’s a party, huh?”

“_ Heather! _”

“I’m just messing with you!” she said, resting a hand on her shoulder. She took another sip of her drink, and then added, “My life is a complete shitshow!”

McNamara pouted at her, folding her arms. “Am I supposed to laugh?”

“I was hoping you would, yes.”

“I’m not gonna laugh at your misery.”

Duke’s giggles of mischief suddenly stopped, and her eyes grew a little rounder.

“Oh.” She clicked her tongue, then took another gulp. “I, um… thanks?”

“Don’t thank me for that,” Heather told her, before bumping hips with her, causing her to topple to the side. She let out a surprised yelp, and Heather giggled.

“Excuse me?” Duke fired back. “What happened to, _ I’m not gonna laugh at your misery? _”

Heather grinned innocently. “You see, that was caused by me, so it’s fine.”

“Bitch,” Duke huffed, before shoving herself into Heather’s side, who let out a squeal. She almost didn’t catch herself - her weight had suddenly become heavier.

_ Alcohol. _

“You wanna _ go _?” she barked, while giggles spilled from her mouth. Duke snickered.

“I was _ going _ to ask you to dance,” she said. “Since your dance partner left you.”

Heather gasped with excitement, her arms flapping a little.

“Heather! You never dance!” she squealed as she took hold of her free hand.

“I will tonight. Just this once,” she said, letting herself be pulled closer to Heather. When their faces were closer together, Heather could see something suddenly appear in her expression. Something different. She’d never seen it on Heather before.

“Do you feel okay?” she asked. Duke gave an amused laugh.

“Yeah, I feel great,” she replied with a warm smile. “And… despite what I said before, Emmy, about my life being a shitshow,” she continued as Heather began to spin them around in a slow circle, hand in hand. “You’ve made it less of one recently. I don’t know how, maybe it’s just how much you care.” She looked away sheepishly - again, something very unusual to see on Heather Duke. “So thank you,” she finished with a murmur.

Heather widened her eyes, feeling something take a dive in her chest, only to come back up again, fueled with exhilaration. She had to swallow it down, in fear that it would find its way out and escape.

“It’s no problem,” she replied with a smile.

* * *

“Could you back up? Your breath reeks of... boy breath,” Veronica her Chandler grumble as she walked over to her. She was pushing a guy further away from her as she turned around to fill her cup up with soda. Veronica could only guess that there was already alcohol contained in there.

“So do you wanna play beer pong?” one of the guys asked her hopefully. Chandler lifted her head as she put the soda bottle down, turning around with an answer ready. Though, when her eyes crossed over Veronica, her jaw paused in its movements.

“Um-” she stuttered. “Where is it?”

“Out back.”

She looked back at Veronica, who remained standing to the side patiently.

“Maybe later,” Chandler replied, looking back at their disappointed faces. “I’d rather not get too drunk in the first hour, thanks.”

The group all gave dejected sighs, but said nothing more. It only took a little wave from Chandler to get them to move along, and once they returned Chandler’s breathing space, Veronica finally stepped forward with a smile.

“Hi,” she greeted. Heather’s eyes flickered up at her.

“Hey.”

“I… just wanted to say thanks,” Veronica said as she settled next to her, arms brushing slightly.

“For what?”

“Heather told me you banned smoking inside,” she said. “Which I appreciate.”

Heather blinked at her.

“I didn’t wanna have to call an ambulance to my house.”

“And I don’t blame you. I don’t think Heather wanted to drag me onto one.”

Heather gave an amused huff, before glancing around the room.

“Do you have your inhaler?”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “_ Yes. _”

“Just making sure!” she retorted. 

“Aw, you’re concerned for me,” Veronica teased, pinching a freckled cheek. “Cute.”

It just so happened Heather was drinking as she said that, or at least, was, before she choked it back up with a rough cough.

“You okay?”

“_ Mhmm _, fine,” she spluttered, wiping her mouth of any stray coke. “Completely fine.” She straightened herself up and let out a sharp exhale. She would have looked as poised as ever, if it weren’t for how her blue eyes would dart around the room. Veronica giggled.

_ This just gets easier and easier every time, _ she thought. _ I wonder how many people have succeeded in doing that? _

“So,” she then shifted the topic. “How was your day yesterday?”

Chandler licked her lips. “It was… fine.”

Veronica arched a brow. “Somehow I don’t believe that.”

Chandler groaned. “How was _ your _ day yesterday?”

“Mine was actually good,” she said. “No fights broke out between my friends and Heather.”

“I’m so happy for you,” she said dryly.

Veronica shot her a look, before an idea came to mind.

“Thank you, you’re so sweet,” she replied in her usual chippy tone, whilst her hand slowly began to slide across the table behind them, stopping just behind her rear. She gazed at Chandler’s face intently, laughing to herself at how oblivious she was.

“So what did you and Heather do yesterday?”

“Oh we just-”

Heather was suddenly cut off as Veronica’s hand landed on her lower back, fingertips tracing lightly over the red fabric. Over the music, she could hear the slightest of whimpers. Veronica smirked as she moved a little closer, up until their shoulders were touching.

“You…?”

Heather’s head snapped towards her.

“You _ know _ what you’re doing,” she growled lowly. Veronica raised her brows as she traced circles, causing Heather’s back to arch ever so slightly.

“I can stop, if that’s what you want.”

Heather held her gaze dangerously, biting down on her lip.

“Not what I’m saying,” she murmured. Veronica batted her lashes innocently at her.

“So, your day yesterday?”

Heather cleared her throat as she leaned into Veronica’s touch. “Other than me drunkenly crying in front of Heather, fine.”

“You were drunk?”

“Yes, I know, bad plan when you have a party full of alcohol the next day.”

“Were you okay?”

“Huh?”

“You said you were crying.”

Heather scoffed. “Oh, yeah, fine.” She stared off elsewhere. “I was just a bit…" Her eyes wandered over to the dance floor. Veronica followed her longing gaze, finding herself looking at Mara as she happily danced with Duke. “I was thinking about a lot.”

Veronica frowned as she looked back at her.

“Are you still thinking about it?”

Heather’s expression immediately switched to one of indifference.

“No, I’m here for a good time,” she said with a huff. “I’m not gonna waste time thinking about some dumb drama.”

“That _ dumb drama _ appears to be getting you down, though.” Veronica shot her a sympathetic gaze.

“Do I look down to you?”

“You’re standing here drinking, while they’re both off having a good time.”

She noticed the cup in Heather’s hand dent as the red acrylic nails curled in.

“I’m not drinking alcohol,” she said. “I just chugged straight vodka.”

Veronica sighed, relishing the squeak that came from Heather’s mouth as she tightened her grip on her ass.

“Veronica, there are people _ everywhere- _”

“No one can see us. There’s a wall behind us,” she reassured. “Also, you don’t have to stay with me if you wanna go play beer pong,” she added, retracting her hand. She noticed Heather slump, as if disappointed, when she did so. “You can go if you want.”

Heather didn’t move. Instead, she looked back at Veronica with a softened gaze.

“I’d rather talk to you.”

Something ignited within her chest when hearing those words. It was like a flower that had died suddenly unfolded, petals on show and stem standing tall.

“Do you… want to dance?” Veronica asked. Heather blinked at her in surprise.

“You want me to dance with you?”

“I was dancing with Mara before. It’s only fair."

Heather tilted her head at the dance floor, silent for a moment.

And soon, a hand was held out in front of her. Veronica smiled widely, taking hold of it with a big grin, before pulling her over to the many dancing teens.

* * *

“You’re not that bad of a dancer, Heather!” Veronica laughed as they both shimmied to the tune of _ Dancing Queen _. Heather’s hand landed on her shoulder, and with Veronica’s arm hooked around her back, she allowed herself to dip backwards.

“I used to take dance classes,” she said, staring up at Veronica whose face was inches apart from hers. Her leg was beginning to hurt from being bent back for a prolonged amount of time, but she was desperately procrastinating having to let Veronica let go of her, or to not have an excuse to stare up at her with bright lights shining down on her, giving her a golden glow.

“Is that so?” Veronica asked as they finally rose up again. “We learn something new every day.”

Heather dug her nails into her shoulder blade, keeping her hand stuck in its place.

“It’s not that interesting,” she muttered. “I hated those classes.”

“Well that sucks,” Veronica said, hand still on her waist. “But hearing you talk about yourself is nice.”

Heather let her other hand settled on Veronica’s other shoulder, allowing them to slowly turn.

“Why’s that?”

Veronica gave a sweet little smile as she shrugged. “You’re a fascinating person,” she confessed. “Because there are so many things I fucking hate about you, and yet so many things I want to know.”

Heather felt her whole body grow warm. She ignored the possible explanation of alcohol, blaming Veronica’s dumb little compliments that made her heart’s pace quicken every time.

“Things like what?” she murmured, leaning in closer, while her head screamed,

_ DON’T KISS HER. _

_ DON’T KISS HER. _

_ DON’T FUCKING KISS HER. _

Because she knew for a fact that alcohol released her impulses, and she knew for a fact that if she did just _ that _ she would have many consequences as a result.

“I… don’t think I should say any of that now,” Veronica whispered, also leaning forward. “The people who you invite to parties are people who like to eavesdrop.”

Something flared within Heather, a sense of frustration and impatience. _ Well now I _ really _ want to know. _

“Okay, well, another fact about me, my memory is bad,” Heather said. “Like, _ very _ bad, and worse when I’m drunk, so could you remind me to pester you about that when there are no people around please?”

Veronica chuckled. “I’ll do my best.” She tilted her head. “And you have a bad memory?” She gasped. “Wouldn’t have guessed!”

“Very funny, Sawyer,” she muttered. Veronica just laughed.

“Only teasing,” she said with a smile that made Heather- _ DON’T FUCKING KISS HER YOU DUMBFUCK. _

“I’m telling you things all about me,” Heather said, trying to push the thought away as best as she could. It was kind of difficult when Veronica was making her muscles grow weak. “What about you don’t I know?”

Veronica widened her eyes a little. “Me? Oh…” She hummed in thought, and then gasped. “Did you know that my name was _ almost _ Heather?”

Heather’s jaw dropped. “_ What? _”

“Yeah, for almost the entirety of my mom’s pregnancy she was _ set _ on the name Heather,” she said. “But then in the last few weeks, she changed it to Veronica.” She chuckled. “She’s a gardener, you see, and she grew some veronicas in her garden. They’ve been her favourite flower since.”

“Wow, what bullshit,” Heather muttered. “We could still be the Heathers if it weren’t for her.”

“Take it up on her, not me,” Veronica said.

Heather smiled as she laughed, ready to give a reply, when-

“Who’s up for a game of Spin the Bottle?”

They both paused their dancing, looking over to Kurt who was holding up an empty vodka bottle.

“You joining?” she asked Veronica, turning back to her. Veronica blinked at her.

“Are _ you _?”

“I drank from the bottle. I kinda signed up for it.”

Veronica shot her an odd look.

“That’s a rule? You share spit on the bottle, you share spit in the game.”

“I never knew this,” she said. “And no, I’m not joining.”

Heather pouted. “But it’ll be easier for you,” she said, lowering her voice. “Since you’re into both.”

“No, I _ can _ be into both,” Veronica corrected her. “Doesn’t mean I want to kiss everyone in this building.”

Heather swallowed.

“Is there anyone you want to kiss?”

Veronica’s brow perked up.

“At least two.”

She then felt herself being nudged forward.

“Now go on. You don’t wanna miss your game, do you?”

Heather rolled her eyes as she began to walk. “You can join any time.”

“I might stand back and watch.”

With that Heather abandoned the dance floor and made her way over to the circle that was accumulating around the bottle that was placed on the coffee table. She snagged an available seat on the couch next to two people who she couldn’t remember the name of and waited for the game to begin, her leg bouncing up and down impatiently.

“So, everyone who took a drink from this here?” Kurt asked as everyone settled. And it was only then when Heather broke out of her thoughts to check the circle for someone _ else _ who had drank from that bottle.

_ Shit _.

Lying across the armchair with her legs dangling over the side was Mac, who had her eyes glued to the bottle in front of her. Heather didn’t tear her gaze away from her up until her hazel eyes flickered towards her, in which case she looked away.

“Nice, we got quite a few people here,” Kurt announced, taking a seat on the carpet. “Including two people who y’all might be lucky enough to snatch.” He glanced at her and Mac with a mischievous grin that she just wanted to slap.

“Just a note before we begin,” Mac suddenly spoke up, making all heads turn towards her. “You’re allowed to deny anyone you want.”

“What?” Kurt frowned. “Since when was that a rule?”

“Since now,” Mac said firmly, staring at him.

“Well, we gotta make a forfeit-”

“No,” she cut him off. “You can deny playing whenever you want.” She raised her chin. “If that isn’t allowed, I’m leaving.”

Kurt fell silent for a moment, before he let out a disgruntled grunt of agreement.

“Neat! Let’s begin!” she then chipped, clapping her hands together.

“Right,” Kurt muttered, taking hold of the bottle. “I’ll go first. And we’ll go…” He looked to his right, towards Mac. “Anti-clockwise.”

As he made the first spin, Heather couldn’t help but gaze over to Mac with a sense of admiration. Part of her wished she was sitting next to her so she could give whisper some sort of praise to her, but alas, she was too hard-headed to even lock eyes with her.

The circle began, with people constantly standing up to go and kiss someone who sat elsewhere, and whilst that happened, Heather occupied herself with looking around the room, observing what else was happening.

Her eyes inevitably landed on Veronica, who seemed to be trying to guide Duke across the room towards the door with a hand tightly gripping her arm. Duke, on the other hand, seemed to be sauntering along with her drunkenly, with a wide, loose grin on her face as she laughed. Heather winced in realising that Veronica was likely taking her to the bathroom, and she prayed silently that it was for bladder reasons.

“Heather.”

The sound of her name made her turn around.

“Your turn,” Kurt said. Heather said nothing, just leaned forward and spun the bottle.

Luckily for her, it landed on the girl who was sitting next to her, so that meant no moving around.

“Aw, hell yeah, second lesbian kiss for tonight,” she heard one of the guys whisper. She rolled her eyes as she turned to the girl sitting next to her, who glanced at her nervously. Heather gazed at her calmly.

“You okay with that?” she murmured, trying to remain both intimidating as well as concerned as she could. The shorter girl with a black bob-cut hesitated, looking at her up and down, before nodding frantically. Perhaps a little too enthusiastically. Hm.

She leaned forward, softly pressing her lips against her. It was round one, so no tongues were necessary.

One thing she took note of is how the girl seemed to freeze up, but also press forward. It was a familiar sight.

It lasted a few seconds before Heather pulled back, and opened her eyes to see the girl flutter open her eyes, staring back at her with an amazed stare.

Again, familiar.

While Heather turned away, not acknowledging the meaningless kiss any further, she did consider the fact that her reaction had been much different to all the other girls who she’d kissed in these games.

Actually? No, she took that back. _ Some _ of them. She’d only just figured out how to spot it. You know, _ post _ sexual awakening.

_ I know a lot more gay people than I think I do, don’t I? _

At least she could take some pride in knowing she _ was _ a sexual awakening for a lot of those girls.

“Okay! We’ve been round the whole circle once,” Kurt announced. “Now for the main event.” He gave a simple wink, before spinning again.

Next to her, the girl nervously tapped her on the arm. She turned to her.

“Um… what does he mean by ‘main event’?”

Chandler arched a brow.

“You’re new to this game, aren’t you?”

She sheepishly looked down and nodded.

“He means we use tongue.” She pointed to Kurt shoving his whole tongue down some poor girl’s throat. “As you can see.”

The girl coiled back. “Oh.”

Usually, Heather would have shrugged it off. But now having the knowledge that there was a possibility that this girl was not into guys, she, for once, took pity.

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” she told her. “Like Heather said before.”

The girl gave her a surprised look.

“My boyfriend wants me to play.”

She arched a brow, curious as to why she was sitting next to no guy - next to her was simply an arm rest.

“Where is he?”

“Over there."

She pointed off to the side, where a pretty large preppy guy was watching the group intently, while enjoying a bottle of beer. Heather scorned at him.

“He’s a pussy for not joining with you,” she told her. “Leave if you don’t wanna stay.”

She gave her an uncertain look.

“What if he gets mad?”

“Break up.”

She widened her eyes, while Heather just returned her attention back to the game.

“Your choice,” she said, pointing to the bottle. “Since it’s your turn now.”

The girl glanced back at the bottle, biting her lip anxiously.

“I-” she stammered, glancing around the circle. “Sorry, I need the bathroom!” she announced, standing up and stepping over everyone’s feet. Heather didn’t look at her after she escaped. She was no longer responsible.

“Aw, come on,” some guy muttered. She rolled her eyes silently.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Kurt said. “Because it’s Heather’s turn.”

Heather snapped her attention towards the bottle.

“Oh. Right.” She leaned forward and gave the bottle a spin, staring at it as she waited for it to stop.

It eventually began to slow down, spinning anti-clockwise up until it finally stopped.

That’s when she looked up.

And locked eyes with Mac.

_ Oh. _

_ Oh _ no.

While she was screeching inside her head, there were excited cheers rippling amongst the guys in the circle as well as some guys outside of it.

“Oh hell yeah!” Kurt exclaimed. “Some double Heather action.”

Heather gulped, only dragging her eyes away from Mac when noticing Veronica and Duke standing some distance behind Mac - now having returned from their trip - staring at her with wide eyes. She noticed Duke mouth an “Uh-oh” while Veronica just grimaced as she looked back and forth between them.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Kurt egged them on.

Heather swallowed thickly as she stood up, slowly making her way over to Mac, who had also stood up. They silently stepped over everyone’s feet, stopping just outside the circle, in everyone’s view. She could still see Veronica and Duke, who were swapping confused looks at each other. Her breathing became shallow as she looked down at Mac, who gazed back up at her calmly.

“You don’t have to,” Mac whispered. And while it would have been an easy way out… well, that was the problem.

_ I _ never _ take the easy way out, _ she thought, looking back at the circle who all stared at them with anticipation.

“I’m not a pillowcase,” she hissed. Mac raised a brow.

“Aren’t you?”

She was about to snap at her, when she heard someone call,

“Woah, is Heather gonna back out of this one?”

She didn’t need to ask for a second name to know they were talking about her. She gulped.

“Yeah, are you…”

She lifted a finger to her lower lip, then slowly ran it down.

_ “...Red?” _

Heather felt her breathing hitch as she watched her sign to her in the most _ frustrating _ way she ever possibly could have. Not even bothering to reply, she grabbed Mac by the chin, tilted it up towards her and shot forward.

The first thing she noticed was the Mac’s lips were… very soft. They smoothly stroked hers as they moved, in a way that she could call _ caressing _ . It was enough to cause goosebumps, it was so gentle. So _ considerate _.

At the back of her mind, she reminded herself of the rule. _ Round two means tongues _. But something held her back from making such a move, as if this were anything more than a stupid game. She blamed it on Mac, and how soothing it felt to have her lips brushing against her own.

She could vaguely get a taste of the same raspberry vodka they had both chugged before, mixed in with other drinks with a sweet tinge. She simply couldn’t name them all when they were all mixed together.

Hands landed on her sides, cautiously and yet firmly. They held her up, making sure she didn’t let the alcohol make her topple over. She wasn’t sure why she was surprised by how strong they were, she’d felt them on her many times before.

Maybe she’d just missed them that much.

* * *

Suddenly Heather understood all the hype surrounding Chandler.

Not only was she skilled in the way her lips would confidently glide across hers, hitting the mark perfectly each time, but the sensation was _ effervescent _.

In her head she compared this moment to all the other guys she had kissed. They’d all been so rough, tasted foul and jumped straight to attempting to choke her with her tongue.

With Veronica, it had been a _ vast _ improvement, with her lips being far less messy, and yet still adventurous with how she would pull her closer eagerly, letting her tongue flicker over her lips teasingly. It was always a brand new experience with her - one that was actually _ fun _.

With Heather, she felt as though she were floating. The hand resting on her chin was holding her up on her two feet, guiding her through tender, yet bold motions. And was it her, or was Heather tilted her head to the side just a little more?

“Oh, come on!” she heard Kurt yell. “Where’s the tongue already?”

If Heather hadn’t been stolen away into complete bliss, she would have rolled her eyes. But she had no time to react as some brushing over her lips. She felt her heart skip a beat, with the anticipation making her fingers twitch, but rather than allow Chandler to get her way, she instead pushed her tongue forward, whilst pulling her closer, invading her mouth. She heard Chandler let out the slightest whine, causing something inside of Heather to _ snap _.

She sped up her motions, her lips still caressing hers gently, but her tongue and her hands growing rough. She refused to let Chandler take control over the kiss, and let her fingers curl into her sides slowly. She noticed a hand had found its way onto her waist, and how it was quick to hungrily grip her yellow dress.

She wondered why her heart was racing, and why she could feel something tighten in her gut in an oddly pleasurable way.

And she only realised the answer when they finally ended it, because she wanted nothing more than to continue.

They slowly parted, blinking open their eyes, both dazed and drunk. Heather saw the redness that was splashed over Chandler’s cheeks, the cloudy blue irises and the smudged lipstick. She wondered if she could get a glimpse of herself in the reflection in her eyes, but alas, they were just too foggy.

_ Yep, _ her brain eventually said as soon as it could process words again. _ I am definitely a lesbian. _

“I-” Chandler stammered as she stared down at her, eyes now wide. “Um...“ She licked her lips.

“That was hot as _ shit _,” Kurt called.

“I missed half of it!” she heard Ram yell from somewhere else in the room.

Heather stared at the many eyes glued to her, still feeling stunned. It was only when she locked eyes with Duke did she manage to somewhat bring herself back into reality, since she was staring at her with wide eyes that was rare to see on her. She tried to catch Veronica’s eye, but she wasn’t looking at either of them, and was instead staring at the floor, hand over her mouth.

“I’m glad you think tho- _ so _,” Chandler suddenly spoke with a very quick correction, turning to Kurt. “Because that’s all you’re getting for now.”

“Aw, what?”

“Please. _ That’s _ what most people came here for,” she cackled as she began to walk off. “Don’t say I gave you nothing.”

Heather stared after her as she walked away, out of the room, leaving her behind without another word.

“Well, maybe Heather wants to-”

“I’m done here,” she quickly said, scurrying away and only stopping when she was out of the room, and out of sight.

She let herself lean back against the wall, taking in a deep breath as she tried to process what had just happened.

_ I just kissed my best friend. _ She swallowed as she pressed a finger against her lips. _ And it was… really good. _

She then slapped her face, snapping herself out of it.

_ Heather, you’re _ so _ drunk. Don’t be having those thoughts now. _

She looked over to the open porch door.

_ I just need to talk to her. Is that so much to ask? _ she thought as she stepped outside, breathing in the cool, fresh air that wasn’t dripping with the stench of sweat and alcohol.

_ I just want all of this to be over. _

She looked around the front garden, checking for any bold, red colours that may be lingering around. Nothing came into view as she walked along the patio, however, other than the many flowers that were lit up by the bright golden porch lights.

Feeling her head grow heavy from the drinks she’d had, Heather made her way over to the bench swing, feeling the tension in her body fade as she let herself relax, quite possibly for the first time tonight.

Because in spite of the fun that she’d had… it wasn’t the same.

She shook it off. Everything that had just happened, and everything that had happened over the past couple of weeks, she shook it all off. She just breathed in the cold night air, stared at the stars and constellations found within them, and-

“I was never jealous of you and Veronica."

Heather’s head jerked to the side, looking over her shoulder to see Chandler stepping out of the shadows of the side of her house, hand lit up with the cigarette in her hand.

“I know everything that I’ve said and done says otherwise, but it wasn’t that. Not really.” She walked towards her slowly, only to stop when Heather looked at her hand.

“Oh,” she grunted, dropping the cigarette and crushing it with her heel. “Can… I sit?”

Heather gazed at her for a moment, before shuffling along the bench to give her more room. Chandler walked around it, before finally sitting down.

“What was it then?” Heather asked after a brief pause. Chandler glanced up at her.

“Huh?”

“If you’re not jealous of us,” she clarified, “then what is it?”

Chandler held her gaze for a moment, occasionally quivering.

“I…” She grinded her teeth together. “I just…”

Heather looked down to see her tightly gripping the hem of her dress, while her leg bounced up and down at a rapid pace. She sighed, shuffling along the bench and resting a hand on top of hers. Once her warm palm touched her cold knuckle, her leg began to slow down.

“I’d rather you tell me,” Heather told her. Chandler glanced at her, the corners of her eyes curling.

“It… wasn’t the idea of you two together that got me angry,” she said quietly, staring at her lap. “It was… I was just scared that… that Veronica wouldn’t want anything to do with me.” Her leg sped up again.

Heather just sighed.

“Then why did you sleep with someone else?” she asked. “And, y’know, distance yourself from her?”

Chandler squeezed her eyes shut. “You should know why.”

“I can take a good guess, yeah.”

“Then do it.”

Heather shot her a pitiful look.

“Because being straight is easier.”

Chandler lowered her head.

“Yeah.” She shrugged. “But I’ve had more than enough time to think about what you said and… that’s not the whole picture.”

Heather furrowed her brow.

“Mac… I have a picture for myself. It’s one everyone adores and respects.” She lifted her head and drew an imaginary canvas with her hand. “I don’t need to make any changes to it. It’s already perfect to everyone.” Her eyes became murky. “So even if _ I _ , the painter, becomes bored with it, I won’t be able to change anything about it. Not the colours, the composition, _ nothing _.”

She glanced at Heather to make sure she was still following, to which Heather nodded.

“And sometimes… I wish there were things I could change about the painting, Heather. Maybe a splash of colour. Maybe adding more detail. Maybe taking some away.” Her shoulders leaned forward as her arms gripped further along her lap, closer to her knees. Heather couldn’t see her lips. “Sometimes… there are things I know are wrong about the painting, but people tell me that it looks fine. Or that it looks better without it being changed. So I just don’t fix them, because what’s the point?”

“You could have just said, ‘I have an image to uphold’.”

“Shush, I’m a poet,” Chandler retorted, which triggered a small giggle from Mac. “And… that isn’t just it.” She looked back at her with watery eyes. “There’s… so much. And I want to be able to tell you in a way that’s more clear and honest, because I know that’s literally _ all _ you fucking want, you want me to be _ honest _. And maybe it’s just the alcohol or whatever, but I can’t possibly unpack that metaphor.” She ran her fingers through her loose ginger locks. “And I’m sorry that I can’t.”

Heather stared back at her, watching as the rims of her eyes gleamed more and more under the light.

“I understand, Heather.”

Chandler looked away. “You were right,” she said. “Everything you said, you were right.” She hugged herself. “I’m sorry I blamed you for the whole Veronica thing. I’m sorry I caused a shutdown, and I promise I didn’t know that was happening, or I would have done something.”

Heather slowly nodded.

“And I’m sorry that I’ve become so closed off.” She pressed her hands against her arms, tightening the hold on herself. “I wish I had a better apology than that, but I don’t know how to apologise for that. Maybe I can do this better when I’m drunk, but I know I won’t be so impulsive to talk to you when sober, so...” She flung her legs onto the bench and hugged her knees. “Sorry.”

Heather grew quiet for a moment, trying to think what she should say.

Then she reached forward and slipped her hand under her arm, linking it with her own.

“You don’t have to have the right words now, Heather,” Heather said, shuffling towards her. “All I wanted was some reassurance that I still had a best friend.”

Chandler swung her head around to face her, a shocked look on her face.

“Of course you do!” she exclaimed. “No matter how snappy or distant or angry or bitter I get, you’re still my best friend.”

“I know. I just wanted to know why you’re any of those things.”

Chandler frowned.

“Some of it’s for show. Some of it…” She shrugged. “I’m just a genuine asshole.”

Heather let out a huff. “The ‘for show’ stuff I’m used to, even if you’ve crossed the line at times.” She brought her hands up to hold the frame of her face. “I just wish I could understand why you’re a genuine asshole.”

“Yeah, you know what? Me too.” Chandler chuckled. “When I figure out, I’ll tell you.” Her smile then faded, and her eyes drifted off elsewhere, her stare becoming blank. Heather patiently waited for a response, taking her own hands back.

“When I’m ready, that is,” she added with a softer tone.

Heather just smiled. “That’s all I wanted,” she said, taking hold of her hands. Chandler’s fingers willingly linked onto hers in response.

“Does… does this mean we’re friends again?” Chandler asked.

“We were always friends. I was just mad at you,” Heather said with a laugh, before lunging forward and embracing her into a tight hug. “But it’s really hard to stay mad at you, no matter how much of a bitch you are.”

She felt arms wrap around her. “Oh thank _ God _.” Chandler rested her chin on her shoulder. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” She paused. “Um… but about what you said about Veronica and I,” she then said, leaning back to catch her eye. “I wanna know if you’re still okay with us doing… whatever.”

Chandler blinked at her, then looked back over to the house.

“Yeah,” she said. “It’s… it’s fine.”

“Really?”

She shrugged. “I mean, she still seems interested in me, so I don’t see the problem.”

“But you like her!”

Chandler froze.

“I never said that.”

Heather just giggled cheekily.

“Yes you do!” she poked her cheek. “You _ like _ her, Heather!”

“No! No, that’s…” Her hands covered her face as it grew more and more red. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?” Heather teased, gazing at her through her lashes as she rested her head on her shoulder. “Is it _ really _?”

Chandler gulped, peering at her over her fingers.

“I… may have the tiniest crush on her,” she whispered timidly. Regardless, Heather heard her loud and clear and let out a giddy squeal, flapping her hands.

“You! You like someone!” she cheered, falling back on the bench, causing it to swing back and forth. Chandler just groaned.

“You like her too!” she barked. “_ That’s _ news. You never like any boys.”

Heather shot her an odd look.

“I’m a lesbian, Heather. You’re not.”

“Oh, right.” She slowly nodded. “Wait. _ You _ like someone!” She turned towards her. Heather just huffed.

“I know. I’ve admitted that since the moment we kissed.”

Chandler blinked at her. “You mean… when _ we _ kissed or-”

“No, no, I meant Veronica!” she blurted out, scrambling back up into a sitting position. “That was just-”

“A game?”

“Yeah! A game.”

“Okay, good. We’re on the same page.”

They both looked away from one another.

“You’re a good kisser, though,” she then heard Chandler mutter. Heather glimpsed at her, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks.

“So are you,” she said. “I mean, you already knew that, but... “ She bit her lip as she thought back to it. “It was an _ experience _, coming from a lesbian.” She licked her lips. “I’ve had to deal with guys being awful, sloppy kissers all my life, so that was… um…” She cleared her throat. “Nice.”

“As someone who does actually like guys, I agree,” Chandler said, still looking away from her with her hand pressed against her cheek, covering it up. Heather didn’t spend a little more than a few seconds side-glancing at her.

“Kissing Veronica for the first time must have been good, then,” Chandler then added. Heather turned her head and saw she was finally looking at her.

“Oh, yeah, it was great,” she said, scratching the back of her head. “So was the um…”

“How quickly did that even happen?” Chandler asked, intrigued. Heather smiled and shrugged.

“All in one night?”

“Oh. Wow.”

“And then we did it again in the morning.”

Chandler blinked at her.

“And then we may or may not have made out while you and Heather weren’t in that one time.”

She paused.

“You mean that one time I was taking Heather to the _ doctor _?”

Heather pursed her lips.

“Perhaps.”

Chandler bit her lip.

“I can’t really say much, since I-”

“Fucked Veronica when I got my nose broken? _ Yeah, _ Heather!”

Chandler grimaced. “And… kinda tried to initiate something the next morning,” she added. “After Heather called us.”

Heather stared at her.

“Wow.”

“I was horny!”

“_ Wow _.”

“She’s good with her hands!” she grumbled, her cheeks flushing. “You know she’s ambidextrous? That means she’ll never get tired!” The tiniest of whimpers could be heard escaping her lips. It definitely did not bring Heather’s mind back to before. “I… um… it’s impressive, right?”

Heather shook the thought off. “Yeah, it is,” she said. “I mean, I don’t have much to compare it to, but-”

“Again, as someone who likes guys and will gladly sleep with them, Veronica was a breath of fresh air.” She let out a sigh, the slightest of clouds forming as her breath left her mouth. “Oh, this is much better.”

“What is?” Heather asked as Chandler flopped onto her lap, staring up at her with wistful blue eyes.

“Being able to talk about this,” she said.

“You mean, being able to bond about you both fucking me?”

Chandler shot back off her lap and Heather spun around to see Veronica standing behind the bench, with a very drunk-looking Duke being held on her two feet by Veronica’s hands.

“Ronnie!” Heather exclaimed, panicked. “You can’t say that in front of-”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Veronica deadpanned at Chandler. “Apparently she _ found out _ somehow.”

The two of them stared at Chandler, who gave a sheepish grin.

“In my defense, I was drunk.”

“And crying!” Duke added. “Thank _ God _ you’re both talkin’ again. She was a total mess.” She let go of Veronica and let her hands fall on Chandler’s shoulders. “Glad to see you’re better Chandy.”

“Heather, are you okay?” Chandler asked, standing up from the bench along with Heather, causing Duke to lose her grip on her.

“No. No she’s not,” Veronica muttered, grabbing Duke and pulling her away. “I think she drank too much.”

“She didn’t drink _ that _ much,” she said. “And she’s a heavy weight.”

“Uhh Emmy, you don’t say to a bulimic that she weighs a lot,” Duke slurred. “Bad.”

“I meant alcohol wise, Heather.”

“_ Oh! _” She cackled. “I was gonna say, you’d never insult me. You’re too nice!”

“Okay, okay, just…” Veronica grumbled as she held Heather against her, stroking her hair. “We’ll go get you some water.”

“See, this is why I always say, drink on an empty stomach,” Duke giggled as she rested her head on Veronica’s chest. The three of them all stared at her.

“Heather, you told me that you _ ate _ something!” Chandler barked. Duke just blew a raspberry.

“I lie. Oopsie daisy.”

Veronica gave a groan.

“Back on topic,” she said as she ran her fingers through Duke’s hair. “Where you two seriously bonding over sleeping with me?”

Chandler and McNamara glanced at each other, before giving Veronica a nod, while letting out a giggle. Veronica blinked at them both.

“I’m glad to see you’re not feuding anymore?” she said. “_ Is _ everything okay between you two? I wasn’t here for the whole conversation.”

The two of them looked back at each other again, sharing a smile as Heather side stepped over to Chandler to link her arm around hers.

“I’d say so,” Heather said.

Veronica just smiled.

“God, _ finally _.”

“Yeah! Well done, Heather,” Duke slurred. “You finally talked to her. Good job.”

“_ You _ need water,” Chandler shot back.

“Oh c’mon, I’m fine,” Duke protested, pouting at Veronica.

“No, Heather’s right. Let’s go,” she said, dragging her off to the front door. “Uh, meet you guys back in there, then?” She tilted her head to the house.

“Will do,” Chandler called after them, while Heather let herself rest her head against her shoulder.

“How did Heather take the news?” she asked as they slowly began to walk towards the entrance, relishing in the tranquility of the flower garden before its inevitable end.

“Oh! Uh, she seemed fine with it,” Chandler replied. “She wasn’t shocked that you were a lesbian.”

Heather stared up at her, dumbfounded.

“And why is that?”

Chandler glimpsed at her teasingly.

“In her words, _ you have pictures of women all over your locker _.”

Heather pursed her lips, tapping on Chandler’s arm.

“She has a point.”

* * *

“Drink up,” Veronica instructed Duke, shoving the glass of water in her hand. Duke frowned at her.

“But I’ll get sober.”

“And you _ won’t _ throw up!” Chandler retorted. “ _ Drink it _.”

“Please drink it, Heather!” Mac added, leaning forward to look at her from where she sat on the couch.

“_ Fine, _” Duke muttered, taking a sip. “Only because you’re nice.”

“I’m nice too!” Veronica argued. Duke snorted.

“Yeah, those two much think so.”

Both Chandler and Mac looked away sheepishly, while Duke quickly chugged down the whole glass.

“You want me to take that back?” Veronica asked, pointing at the now empty glass. Duke rolled her eyes.

“I can do it,” she grunted as she stood up. “I’ll be back.”

“_ Please _ don’t fall,” Mac begged as Duke stumbled around the couch to make her way over to the kitchen. Duke just scoffed.

“I can walk,” she said defensively, before leaving the three alone. Chandler let herself sink into the soft material, releasing the remaining tension that may have been trapped in her muscles before. Her eyes wandered around the room, before they eventually stopped on Veronica’s tightly crossed legs. She noted that it was odd - Veronica didn’t usually have one leg crossed over the other.

Just as her brain was about to question it, she felt her warmth press against her side as she shuffled closer. Her breathing hitched, but she was able to turn towards her calmly.

“Okay, so confession,” Veronica whispered, leaning close to her ear. Heather shivered each time her breath brushed over her lobe. “Ever since I saw you both play Spin the Bottle before I… um…” She bit her lip. “Let’s just say my body is acting up right now?”

Immediately catching onto what she was referring to, Chandler felt her heart quicken its pace.

“It is, hm?” she replied, shifting in her seat with anticipation. “What are you implying?”

Veronica didn’t use her words. Instead, she used her other hand and let it slither between her thighs, an action that made Heather’s hands twitch as she thickly swallowed.

“I’m sure you, out of all people, can guess.”

Heather opened her mouth to whisper a seductive reply, when she felt the weight on her other shoulder suddenly leave. She turned her head away from Veronica and towards Mac, who was looking over to the dance floor.

“Heather! I love this song!” she exclaimed fervently, tugging her by the red fabric of her dress. Heather tuned into the song that had started to play, and recognised it as the tune of _Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy_.

“I don’t suppose you’d wanna dance, would you?” she asked, gazing up at her with a hopeful gaze that had the ability to melt her heart. She smiled, then turned back to Veronica.

“Mind waiting about five minutes?” she murmured. Veronica’s shoulders slumped, but she shook her head in spite of her disappointment. On cue, Chandler found herself being dragged away from the couch and towards the many teens jamming to the upbeat tune.

“I may have poor balance. Y’know, alcohol and all,” Chandler warned her. Mac just rolled her eyes and grinned as she took hold of her hands in a strong grip.

“No one is here for a performance, Chandy,” she laughed. “We’re just here to have fun.”

Chandler grinned as she found herself guided in a chippy dance led by Mac, one that had no structure, no previous practice, all made up on the spot. But somehow, she still hit every beat perfectly.

_ “_ _Ooh, let me feel your heartbeat,_

_grow faster, faster.” _

As that final line played, Mac leaped forward and poked Chandler on the nose and placed on hand on the left side of her chest. Heather snickered, pushing her away.

“Stop it, you fucking pillowcase.”

_ “Come on and sit on my hot seat of love,_

_and tell me how do you feel right after all."_

“Do you think guys actually understand these lyrics? You know, because they're all so romantic.” Chandler asked as they shuffled along with each other, Chandler’s arms around her neck while Mac’s hands remained on her waist. Just like before.

“Probably not. But at least I do,” she said with a grin.

_ “I'd like for you and I to go romancing._

_Say the word, your wish is my command._

_Ooh, love, ooh, lover boy,_

_What're you doing tonight, hey, boy?” _

Suddenly, Chandler felt her whole weight lift off the ground, while the arms around her waist tightened their grip. She latched onto Mac in shock, looking down at her as she gave her a playful grin.

“Oh… you’re strong.”

“You’ve known this for ages,” Mac laughed as she made a half-turn before putting her down again. Though, in feeling the hold on her loosen, she couldn’t help but wish it could have lasted longer.

“Not many people do,” Chandler said.

“Not many people know me as well as you do.”

_ “When I'm not with you_

_I think of you always._

_I miss those long hot summer nights._

_When I'm not with you,_

_Think of me always._

_Love you._

_Love you."_

“You look very nice, tonight, by the way,” Mac suddenly said as she lowered Chandler in a dip. Chandler fluttered her lashes at her, cherishing the soft tone that delivered such a simple compliment.

“So do you,” she replied. Mac giggled.

“Sorry I didn’t say it sooner,” she said. “That was before…”

“Yeah.” Chandler nodded as she was lifted up again. “Before _ that _.”

* * *

“_ God _ I’ve missed this,” Heather gasped in between the rough kisses that she and Veronica shared. Desperate hands grabbed her all over, from her hair, her shoulders, her sides and her chest while she happily let them explore every inch of her, ravishing every second.

“Then why’d you leave, dipshit?” Veronica chuckled against her lips, before pressing kisses along her cheek and down her jawline, until she was nipping at her neck, sucking on some of the most sensitive parts. She let out a yearning whine, digging her nails into Veronica’s back and dragging them down up until her hand cupped her ass. The further down she got, the more Veronica groaned in a low voice that made Heather _ melt _.

“What, you want me to- _ fuck! _” she yelped as Veronica bit her shoulder and began to suck, luring moans out of her. “You- you want me to insult myself for you?”

“Hmm…” Veronica gave a thoughtful hum. “That would be lovely, actually.”

“Oh… um…” Heather swallowed, feeling her whole body shake with arousal. “Like what?”

“Well, since you _ did _ kind of go off to fuck whoever,” Veronica murmured as she caught her eye. “Maybe acknowledge just how much of a whore you are.”

Heather gasped loudly.

“I- y-yes, I’m a whore!” she whimpered, burying her face into the crook of Veronica’s neck, tangling her hand in her hair. Veronica chuckled next to her ear.

“Good girl.”

Her grip on Veronica’s hair tightened, dragging a growl out of her.

“Just fuck your whore already, would you?” she begged. In response, a hand landed on her shoulder and pushed her backwards, pinning her against the bed. Lips locked with hers, and a tongue entered her mouth, and her world temporarily went black as she fluttered her eyes shut.

Soft, considerate lips continued to stroke hers for a while, until they eventually parted. She blinked her eyes open, the light blinding her for a moment.

“Well, you know how impatient I am. Almost as much as you, brat.”

Chandler gazed up at Mac and nodded desperately, opening her legs a little wider.

“Please?” she asked her, before being cut off by a groan as strong hands pushed her arching back against the bed.

“Since you were so polite,” Mac teased, batting her long lashes at her. She then lowered her head, kissing along her collar bone, her lips like butterfly wings. She watched in awe as she traveled down, over her chest, down her abdomen, until her mouth was finally between her-

_ “Fuck!” _

Heather’s eyes shot open at the feeling of a knee clashing against her own. She jolted up off the mattress, her brain trying to take in her surroundings.

It was her room.

She was in her bed.

Fabric was touching her naked body.

And so was Veronica.

“Oh, sorry, Heather!” Veronica said with a grimace as she rolled over towards her side of the bed. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Heather stared back at her. She was naked too. Because of course she was.

Veronica tilted her head at her. “Are you alright?”

She blinked at her.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Veronica shuffled forward, cupping her face with her hand.

“You’re very pale. More than usual.” She frowned at her hand. “And kinda sweaty.”

Heather pushed her hand away. “Of course I’m fine!” she dismissed. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Veronica shrugged. “I thought you might’ve had a bad dream.”

She paused for a moment, her brows knitting.

“I guess I did.” She fell back onto the mattress, pulling the blanket over her, as well as Veronica, who immediately got cozy under the soft duvet.

“Well, at least you don’t remember it,” she murmured as she wrapped an arm around her and buried her face into her neck, while one leg settled between both of her own.

A few moments of silence passed, when Veronica moved her leg up ever so slightly, her knee pressing between _ certain _ areas, which made Heather-

_ “Ah! _”

“Oh, God,” Veronica gasped, lifting her head up. “Heather, you’re-” she looked down, where her knee would be under the duvet.

“Sensitive? Yeah, that’s _ your _ fault, Sawyer.”

“No. I mean, yes, but…” She moved her knee away. “You’re um… wet?”

Heather froze, sweat growing cold at the realisation.

“Oh… um…” She averted her gaze. “Weird.”

Veronica raised a brow.

“I guess I was just thinking about before,” she said with a shrug, slipping an arm around Veronica to pull her closer. Luckily for her, Veronica seemed to pridefully soak up that comment and let herself relax, curling up against her and closing her eyes.

Giving her the opportunity the stare at the ceiling, wondering what the actual _ fuck _ just happened.

_ It was just… a weird dream, _ she thought to herself as she let her free hand drift down her sides _ where strong hands had gripped her _.

_ Nothing more to it, _ she told herself as she licked her lips _ where soft, gentle lips had touched her. _

_ It didn’t mean anything. _ Her hand traveled further down, slipping between her thighs just to feel if-

_ Oh, fuck. _ She jerked her hand away, quickly wiping it on the sheets before it flopped lifelessly as her whole body froze up, finding no more limp-handed excuse to use to fuel her denial.

She briefly looked at Veronica, then tore her gaze away, the ceiling acting as a screen to replay the events of her dream on repeat. And though her back wanted to arch each time she watched the whole thing through, she could only pay attention to her heart sinking further and further.

_ Oh no. _ She dug her nails into the sheets as she hyperfocused on the image of Mac, hazel eyes dark and full of lust as she kissed her way down to the area between her thighs, causing her to quiver with anticipation. _ No, no, not again. _

_ Please don’t make me do this again, for fuck’s sake. _

**Author's Note:**

> OH THANK GOD THIS FUCKING ARC IS OVER I'M SO FUCKING RELIEVED FKJKJDKJGFFGK
> 
> https://heathersgameoftag.tumblr.com/


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